Demo Dxf Import Project

File:DXF project.png

An overview of Demo DXF import.

The Demo DXF import project is available for all users and can be found in the main menu under Edit projects. This project does not count towards your license.

This project is intended for Urban planners, architects.

This project showcases how to import a DXF file into the project.

The demo is a working project in which a location in The Netherlands is used to import a new architectural plan by means of an DXF file. This file is made in AutoCAD and exported to DXF for import.

About the project

This project shows an area of open land near Tilburg in the Netherlands where a new architectural plan will be loaded by means of a DXF file which is prepared beforehand.

Explore the current situation

1. Click anywhere in the 3D Visualization, and use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move around. You can also drag the camera around by left-clicking (and holding the right mouse button down) in the 3D Visualization and dragging the camera around. Use the scroll wheel to zoom in- and out. By right-clicking and dragging you can rotate the camera.
2. Zoom out and observe the current situation. You can see a big empty plot of land to the right of the roundabout. This is the area where we will load a new plan.

Import DXF file

1. First go to the How to import a DXF tutorial. Use the "Demo_DXF_import.dxf" from the DXF Import folder on the GeoShare. To access the GeoShare click on the top right link in the Editor Ribbon
2. When prompted in the Geo Data Wizard, choose import as measure and also as a new measure. We will therefore be designing a Future Design project.
3. When prompted for function mapping just use One function and pick "placeholder" as a function for now. All other steps can be left as default.
4. When the Geo Data Wizard has finished go to the Future Design tab and click on the Measures button on the Ribbon menu bar.
5. Notice a new Measure has been created on the left Editor Panel. There is already an Example Measure present, this can be used to compare your imported measure if you so wish. It should yield the same results.
6. Click on your imported measure and also expand it by clicking on the flag icon next to it. Notice that the Measure contains buildings. These are the buildings which were present in the DXF file and which were identified as building in the Geo Data Wizard.
7. With the measure still highlighted go to the Right Editor Panel and click on Activate Measure.
8. The Test Run will start and the new plan will appear. Notice that the plan is visualized as one big building. We will fix this in the next section. For now you have created a new measure which was imported from a DXF file.

Use GeoPlugin to map functions

1. In order for an imported DXF file as Measure to correctly correspond with the Functions in Tygron we will need a GeoPlugin.
2. For this demo a GeoPlugin has already been created. To learn how to make your own GeoPlugin just follow this tutorial: How to create a Geo Plugin to import Buildings from a DXF
3. Go to the Tools tab on de Editor Ribbon bar and click on the GeoPlugin button.
4. On the Left Editor Panel a list of existing Geo Plugins is shown.
5. Click on the Demo Plugin entry and go to the Right Panel for its properties.
6. Go to the GeoLinks Tab. A list of Geo Links is shown. Every link corresponds to a Tygron Function with a Layer or Block reference in AutoCAD.
7. Click on one of the Links. An attribute window appears at the bottom of the Editor Interface which shows all the correspondences made for each Link. we will not go into them right now. If you want to learn how to make your own just follow the tutorial shown in step 2 above.
8. It is sufficient to know for now that the GeoPlugin will match with the AutoCAD layers and the imported DXF will visualize correctly.
9. To fix the problem we had in the above tutorial we will now import the DXF file again but change some of the import settings so that it will use the GeoPlugin.
10. So as before go to the Future Design Tab and click on measures. Choose import Geo Data. This will open the Geo Data Wizard again.
11. When prompted to Select Measure Type choose Existing Measure instead of New. We will be changing the Measure we previously imported only. Choose your Measure from the drop-down selection box.
12. Click next and keep all settings default except when the Wizard prompts you to Assign Functions. Previously we used the One Function option. This caused the Measure to appear as just one building.
13. Choose the Function Geoplugin Matching option instead. Choose the Demo Plugin from the Drop-down list. Click next and then Click Finish
14. The Measure has been updated to use The GeoPlugin to apply different Functions to different elements in the DXF file.
15. Activate the Measure as before. Notice that the plan is imported correctly now. If you want to compare you can always activate the Example Measure to check for any errors.

Adding more elements to the Measure

1. Sometimes there is a wish for extra changes that a Measure will provide. For example adding a soundwall so that the new residents will have minimal noise pollution from the highway to the left of the project.
2. To do this we will be adding a Spatial based on a GeoTiff to the existing Measure. This means that when the Measure is activated as normal a new soundwall has been created next to it. This illustrates the diversity of data that Tygron can import to combine multiple sources for a new result.
3. Click on your Measure that you have created previously
4. From the lower menu choose the "Add Tiff" option. This will create a new Tiff entry with the name TiffSpatial 1 as part of your Measure.
5. On the Right Editor Panel choose "Add" to fill the entry with a GeoTiff. A select window appears. Click on the "Add GeoShare File" from the lower left link in the window. Choose "demo_dxf.tiff" from the demo_dxf folder on the GeoShare. You can always choose a file from your local folder on you PC but for now we have prepared the files on the GeoShare.
6. The GeoTiff's name appears on the pnael and you are now ready to Activate the Measure again.
7. Notice that a Soundwall has been raised on the left side below the roundabout. This soundwall will have direct impact when calculating a noise pollution overlay for example.
8. You have now succesfully added a new Measure based on DXF data and enriched the Measure with additional Spatial data. You are now ready to analyse your project on different Themes such as Noise pollution, Quality of life, Flooding etc.

Explore further

Go to the Main Page and learn more about the different Overlay calculations that can be used on this project. You can find a selection of Overlays under the Calculations Header.

Useful links

• How to import a DXF
• How to set the Geo-location of a DXF
• How to set the unit of measurement for a DXF
• How to create a Geo Plugin to import Buildings from a DXF
• How to deal with a long processing DXF import